I’ve been doing intermittent fasting for over a year now and it has completely changed my life. I used to be overweight and unhealthy, but since starting this lifestyle change, I have lost over 50lbs and my health has improved drastically. Intermittent fasting has become an important part of my everyday routine, and I can honestly say that it’s been a huge success in my life.
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern where you cycle between periods of eating and not eating. It’s not a diet in the traditional sense; rather it’s more of an eating schedule that can help you lose weight, improve your overall health, and increase your energy levels.
The most popular way to do intermittent fasting is the 16/8 method where you fast for 16 hours each day and only eat during the remaining 8 hours. This means that you would skip breakfast every morning (which can be hard at first!) but then eat all your meals within the 8 hour window later on in the day. For example, if you started eating at 12pm, then you would wrap up your last meal by 8pm before going into the 16 hour fast until noon again the next day. This type of fasting works well for me because it fits into my lifestyle since I tend to eat most of my meals around lunchtime anyways so this plan was easy for me to get used to! It’s much easier than you might think.
In addition to helping with weight loss, there are lots of other benefits associated with intermittent fasting as well. For starters, it helps improve digestion since when we are constantly snacking throughout the day our bodies don’t get a chance to rest which can lead to digestive issues like bloating or constipation. Intermittent fasting also helps regulate hormones which is great because when our hormones are balanced we feel better both physically and mentally. Lastly, intermittent fasting helps lower inflammation levels in our bodies which is important because chronic inflammation can lead to diseases like heart disease or diabetes down the line if not kept under control.
Intermittent Fasting isn’t advised for certain people, and it did take some time for me to get used to this new way of eating, but once I got into a routine with it things became much easier. One thing that helped was tracking my progress so that I could see how far along I was towards achieving my goals; this gave me motivation when things got tough during those first few weeks. Additionally setting reminders on my phone about when it was time for me start/stop eating also helped keep myself on track too so that I didn’t forget about what time frame I needed to keep myself within each day.
The one thing that helped me master IF was ensuring that I was satisfied with my meals – and I mean full. I began to care less about the calories I consumed during meal times and instead made sure I was content with being satiated. That way, I could easily stick to my eating window, without trying. I had to adjust my diet – eating more healthy fats and proteins, and avoiding foods that would fill me up temporarily but cause hunger later on. If I felt hungry not too long after a meal, I knew I was in for a tough time.
Now after one year of doing intermittent fasting regularly every single week (including weekends) – I am feeling amazing both physically and mentally as well as having lost 50lbs already. Not only did it help me reach these impressive results but also all these other additional health benefits too such as improved digestion, hormone regulation and lowered inflammation levels- all without having felt deprived or restricted while dieting either-which were definitely bonuses.
Overall doing intermittent fasting has been one of the best decisions that I have ever made- not only has Intermittent Fasting help me lose weight quickly and effectively but also made positive long lasting changes within myself regarding health and mental wellbeing too- something no other diet had ever done before either. In conclusion, if you’re looking to lose weight and improve your overall health than I would highly suggest trying out intermittent fasting – it worked wonders for me and I’m sure it will do the same for you too.
